26 | JUNE 2 • 2022 

H

ow unlikely is it to find 
three female cantors 
on the bimah of the 
prestigious Orthodox Hampton 
Synagogue in New York? 
 Surprisingly, it was one of 
many distinguished appearanc-
es for these three cantors — the 
Shul Sisters — who are coming 
to Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
on Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m. 
The concert is free, but regis-
tration is required.
The Shul Sisters are three 
of the leading female cantors 
in the country: Cantor Laurie 
Akers of Congregation Or 
Shalom in Chicago, Cantor 
Rachel Brook of Anshe Emet 
Synagogue in Chicago and 
Cantor Rachel Goldman of 
Congregation Ner Tamid of 
South Bay in Los Angeles.
The three cantors met 
through separate shared rela-
tionships with acclaimed per-
former Neshama Carlebach. 
Cantors Akers and Brook 
were each invited to work 
with Carlebach on one of her 

albums in February 2018. 
Later, when Brook was being 
installed at the Park Avenue 
Synagogue, Akers was com-
missioned to write a song for 
the occasion, which cultivated 
their relationship. 
The relationship they shared 
with Carlebach led them to 
meet at a cantorial conven-
tion. It all came together in 
February 2019, at a song-lead-
ing convention in St. Louis 
called Songleader Bootcamp, 
the brainchild of Jewish music 
singer Rick Recht. Cantor 
Rachel Goldman pulled the 
other two aside to introduce 
them to a beautiful song called 
“Price of a Woman.” At that 
moment, when they started 
to sing together, they felt a 
magical connection. They 
realized that they had some-
thing special, and the Shul 
Sisters were born. 
The Shul Sisters have 
been appearing together 
since 2019 at venues such 
as Park Avenue Synagogue 

in New York City and the 
International Lion of Judah 
Conference, both in 2020, and 
the Jewish United Fund of 
Chicago Women’s Gala with 
Diane von Furstenberg and 
the Neranenan/Atlanta Jewish 
Music Festival, both in 2021. 

ACCOMPLISHED CANTORS
These three already-distin-
guished cantors have individ-
ually contributed to liturgical 
music in their own rights. 
Akers is a celebrated Jewish 
Rock Radio artist whose 
compositions have received 
national acclaim. She serves as 
the host of Jewish Rock Radio 
Chicago Sings, a concert series 
that brings together cantors 
and musicians from 20-plus 
congregations to create and 
share new Jewish music. In 
addition, she hosts the monthly 
Cantors Assembly program, 
Shir Chadash, and frequently 
serves as a guest artist and 
commissioned composer at 
congregations around the 

country. Her compositions can 
be found in numerous Jewish 
liturgical anthologies. She lives 
in Chicago with her husband, 
Brad, and their three sons, 
Isaac, Levi and Ashton. 
Brook, senior cantor of 
Anshe Emet Synagogue in 
Chicago, was the first female 
cantor in its 150-year history. 
Previously, she served as can-
tor at Park Avenue Synagogue 
in New York. Her first solo 
album, L
’chayim Ul’shalom: 
Songs of Life and Peace, was 
released in December 2020, 
and she is a featured solo-
ist on several Park Avenue 
Synagogue albums. Brook has 
served as the conductor of 
Shir Chadash: The Brooklyn 
Jewish Community Chorus 
and the Westchester chapter 
of HaZamir: the International 
Jewish High School Choir. 
She has been a service leader 
and educator at synagogues 
throughout New York City and 
at the Conservative Yeshiva in 
Jerusalem, where she curat-
ed and taught the yeshivah’s 
first course on building sing-
ing communities. She was 
ordained at the H.L. Miller 
Cantorial School of Jewish 
Theological Seminary in New 
York in May 2016. 
Goldman currently serves 
as Cantor at Congregation 
Ner Tamid of South Bay in 
Los Angeles. Beginning in 

OUR COMMUNITY

Congregation Shaarey Zedek
welcomes the Shul Sisters on June 9.

Celebrating Female
Voices in the Cantorate

Details:

Shul Sisters at 
Shaarey Zedek
On Thursday, June 9, 
7 p.m. at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek, 27375 
Bell Road, Southfield. 
Free, but registration is 
required at shaareyzedek.
org/shulsisters. Call (248) 
357-5544 for information.

RUTH KREMER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

The Shul 
Sisters

